Vacations in DRC

On Saturday, I walked to Goma for a $6 beer…

Goma is the de facto capital of eastern DR Congo, in the war wracked province of North Kivu.... What the heck was I doing in Goma drinking such an expensive beer? I found myself asking that very question; but before this is addressed, a short summary of Goma's unique history seems necessary...

During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Hutu Interim Government responsible for most of the brutal atrocities had its headquarters just over the border in the town of Gisenyi on the stunning shores of Lake Kivu. With this beautiful backdrop, over half a million Tutsi’s and moderate Hutu’s were brutally slaughtered in less than a hundred days. As the internationally community stood aside and did nothing to stop the atrocities (and in the case of the French, actually abetted it), a Tutsi led rebel army slowly took control of the country and finally stopped the genocide.

The genocidaires and the Hutu Interim Government warned of impending brutal reprisals, and as the Tutsi army advanced, millions of Hutu’s fled across the border to Goma. At one point, close to 12,000 people an hour were crossing the border. The genocidaires (under the protection of the French), used this cover to flee with the refugees into Goma. Over a million were dead and millions more displaced when the fighting stopped.

The feared reprisals never materialized; instead, in the Goma camps the genocidaires blended with hundreds of thousands of innocent Hutu refugees. Receiving UN protection and food from the international community, they used this opportunity to rearm and began to carry out further massacres inside Rwanda from the refugee camps which they controlled. After pleading to no effect with the international community to dismantle the camps, the Rwandan government finally took action in 1997 and invaded DR Congo.

While solving the problem of the camps, the invasion sparked what is now known as the African World War and led to the overthrow of Mobutu, the dictator of DR Congo. The deadliest conflict since World War II, it directly involved eight African nations and 25 different armed groups fighting for control of DR Congo’s valuable natural resources. Five years after hundreds of thousands fled Rwanda to DR Congo, the mass human exodus had reversed itself. Despite a peace agreement in 2003, many factions continue to fight to this day. An estimated 5.4 million people have died since the conflict began. Goma has been a flashpoint throughout the conflict.

Yet there is more… in 2002, a nearby volcano erupted, sending a flood of lava through the center of Goma. About 40% of the city was destroyed.

And here my story begins... With only a couple of days for summer break due to a hectic intern schedule, I had planned on vacationing in Rwanda with Lorin, the Save the Children Food Security Manager I work for in Nakasongola. We were looking at visiting Gisenyi and joked about traveling to nearby Goma, but never seriously thought we would actually take the trip.

We first traveled to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, by bus from Uganda. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills. They weren’t kidding… We took a well paved but very windy road through deep valleys and along the summits of very high ‘hills’. As we approached Kigali, the city could be seen resting on a very large ridge in the distance.

The first night was spent struggling to find affordable accommodation (partial success after about five different guest houses); the next morning struggling to withdraw money (failure as we soon learned that international credit cards are not yet accepted in Rwanda). Thankfully, Lorin had some emergency dollars stashed. Yet Kigali is very expensive and we were constantly afraid of running out of cash throughout the trip. That morning, we left for Gisenyi and Lake Kivu. The town promised cheaper accommodation and a beautiful lake. It was an easy sale.

On the bus to Gisenyi, Lorin sat next to a friendly Rwandan who was eagerly pointing out all the genocide memorials on the way. Most were churches; taking refuge inside, many women and children were massacred by Interhamwe militias (sometimes collaborating with local priests and nuns). Lorin asked the man about traveling to Goma. He surprised Lorin by stating that he though it was calm enough at the moment to visit. Furthermore, it was within walking distance of Gisenyi (about 5kms from city center to city center). After arriving in Gisenyi, we asked a few more people about the security situation. For the moment, Goma seemed to sound safe. We dropped our bags at a hotel, had a quick beer to assure our resolve and without delay, set off on foot.

Much of the road to Goma is gorgeous, gracefully winding under huge trees following the curves of Lake Kivu. It was hard to imagine millions of people fleeing on this same road (in both directions, depending on the conflict). The border itself was calm and customs on both sides surprisingly polite and helpful. Everybody also spoke English, which surprised me (both are former French colonies). After paying for a transit visa, we continued on into the heart of Goma.

Near the border, expensive offices and houses of NGO and UN staff hide behind barbed wire fences and armed guards. As we made our way further, we spotted the Save the Children office. We stopped in, chatted with some staff and commented on their really cool guard tower. We soon found ourselves back on the main road, walking towards the far side of town. Other than a strange parade sponsored by a mobile phone company (it consisted of two green pickups with music surrounded by many well armed soldiers), the city seemed fairly relaxed and chill. With its recent violent history and the real possibility of attack at any time, this seriously surprised me…

Lorin and I wandered the streets, getting a bit lost in the process and ended up in the mechanic section of town. After being pointed in the right direction, we found our way to the main road and decided to have a quick drink before heading back to Rwanda. We both ordered Tembo’s, an ale from southern DR Congo I had never seen before. After the Tembo’s, we debated over ordering a second round… As it was getting late (the border closed at 8), we chose to ask for the bill. $12 for two beers!!!

Heading back to Rwanda, we took motorcycle taxi’s as it was dark and we didn’t want to push our luck. Another easy border crossing, and our brief foray in Goma was finished. However, there was still much more excitement ahead upon our return to Kigali...